(Created page with "thumb|Gene Deitch and his Tom Terrific Comic Book. '''Eugene Merril "Gene" Deitch''' (born August 8, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American illustr...") |
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| + | {{Infobox_Real_Person|image = Gene Deitch.jpg|name = Eugene Merril Deitch|born = August 8, 1924 |
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| − | [[File:Gene_Deitch.jpg|thumb|Gene Deitch and his Tom Terrific Comic Book.]] |
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| + | Chicago, Illinois, United States|died = April 16, 2020 (aged 95) |
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| + | Prague, Czech Republic|occupation(s) = Illustrator, animator, director|years active = 1945–2008|spouse = Marie Deitch (m. 1943–1960) |
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| + | Zdenka Najmanová (m. 1964–2020)}} |
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| + | Deitch joined Rembrandt Films in Prague, moving out of the United States. With Rembrandt, in addition to ''Tom and Jerry'' and ''Popeye'', he worked on ''Munro'', the ''Nudnik'' shorts, and the ''Self-Help'' series. |
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| + | == Criticism on his ''Tom and Jerry'' theatrical cartoons == |
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| + | Deitch's ''Tom and Jerry'' theatrical shorts produced between 1961-1962 received intense negative reception from both critics and audiences alike. This is mainly due to the extremely low quality animation, the extremely low budgets, the weak writing, the lack of returnee characters like Spike, Nibbles, Mammy Two Shoes, Butch, Joan, Quacker, and a few others from the [[William Hanna|Hanna-]][[Joseph Barbera|Barbera]] era cartoons, its terrible voice acting, music, and sound effects, the more brutal and hurtful usage of slapstick and violence, the flanderization of the cat-and-mouse duo such as Tom being reduced into a huge punching bag and Jerry being reduced into an unlikable sadistic jerk who enjoys torturing Tom for fun, the one-sidedness of Tom and Jerry's battling rivalries where it always ends with Jerry winning and Tom losing even though the former usually does not deserve it, the introduction of [[Tom's owner (Deitch era)|Tom's notorious owner]] in [[Down and Outing|three of]] [[High Steaks|his ''Tom and Jerry'']] [[Sorry Safari|shorts]], the inexperience of his Czech animation crew in making these ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoons and the fact that Deitch himself was tasked to work on the cartoons despite his personal dislike towards the series due to finding it "needlessly violent". |
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| + | Despite the negative reception of Gene Deitch's ''Tom and Jerry'' shorts, they were commercially successful in movie theaters back in the day, and some fans wrote positive letters to Deitch, stating that his ''Tom and Jerry'' shorts were their personal favorites due to their quirky and surreal nature<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150912040746/http://www.rotoscopers.com/2015/06/21/tom-and-jerry-the-gene-deitch-collection-dvd-review/ "'Tom and Jerry: The Gene Deitch Collection' – DVD Review" (Rotoscopers.com)]</ref>. While most of Deitch's ''Tom and Jerry ''shorts were widely panned, some of his ''Tom and Jerry ''shorts had better audience reception, most notably ''[[The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit]]'' and ''[[Buddies Thicker Than Water]]''. |
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| + | == References == |
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| + | <references /> |
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[[Category:Real People]] |
[[Category:Real People]] |
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[[Category:Directors]] |
[[Category:Directors]] |
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[[Category:Males]] |
[[Category:Males]] |
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[[Category:Tom and Jerry]] |
[[Category:Tom and Jerry]] |
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| + | [[Category:Gene Deitch Cartoons]] |
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| + | [[Category:Deceased]] |
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Revision as of 23:02, 7 May 2020
Eugene Merril "Gene" Deitch was an American illustrator, animator and film director. He has been based in Prague since 1959.
Deitch produced animated cartoons for studios such as UPA/Columbia Pictures, Terrytoons/20th Century Fox (Tom Terrific), MGM (Tom and Jerry), and Paramount Pictures (Nudnik, Popeye).
Deitch was the father of Kim Deitch, Simon Deitch, and Seth Deitch are prominent artists and writers in the underground comix and alternative comics movements. And Survived by them and his wife, Zdenka.
Deitch joined Rembrandt Films in Prague, moving out of the United States. With Rembrandt, in addition to Tom and Jerry and Popeye, he worked on Munro, the Nudnik shorts, and the Self-Help series.
Criticism on his Tom and Jerry theatrical cartoons
Deitch's Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts produced between 1961-1962 received intense negative reception from both critics and audiences alike. This is mainly due to the extremely low quality animation, the extremely low budgets, the weak writing, the lack of returnee characters like Spike, Nibbles, Mammy Two Shoes, Butch, Joan, Quacker, and a few others from the Hanna-Barbera era cartoons, its terrible voice acting, music, and sound effects, the more brutal and hurtful usage of slapstick and violence, the flanderization of the cat-and-mouse duo such as Tom being reduced into a huge punching bag and Jerry being reduced into an unlikable sadistic jerk who enjoys torturing Tom for fun, the one-sidedness of Tom and Jerry's battling rivalries where it always ends with Jerry winning and Tom losing even though the former usually does not deserve it, the introduction of Tom's notorious owner in three of his Tom and Jerry shorts, the inexperience of his Czech animation crew in making these Tom and Jerry cartoons and the fact that Deitch himself was tasked to work on the cartoons despite his personal dislike towards the series due to finding it "needlessly violent".
Despite the negative reception of Gene Deitch's Tom and Jerry shorts, they were commercially successful in movie theaters back in the day, and some fans wrote positive letters to Deitch, stating that his Tom and Jerry shorts were their personal favorites due to their quirky and surreal nature[1]. While most of Deitch's Tom and Jerry shorts were widely panned, some of his Tom and Jerry shorts had better audience reception, most notably The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit and Buddies Thicker Than Water.